Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Sir

I am regular reader of Islamhelpline. I am a working mother of two children. About a year ago I took up loan from a bank and have been paying off for about 2 yrs now without any problems. Due to the crisis I have lost my job suddenly, now am very tensed. From this money i had bought a small house back home. Unfortunately my husband also lost his job one year ago and unable to find one till now. I am very scared of aakhirat, what happens if I dont payup the loan and go away from this country. If i have to pay up then have to sell off the house, if I sell off the house, where am I going to live and what about my children, their education, food and living. Please show me a way and let me know how to face it. I hope my name and details will not be revealed to public.

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Answer:

Paying off loans

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Firstly sister, if you had taken a loan from a conventional bank on interest or ‘riba’ , without any iota of a doubt, such a transaction would be categorically unlawful in the Sight of Shariah Law and in the Sight of Allah Subhanah.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 276:

276 Allah will deprive ‘riba’ of all blessings, but He will give increase for deeds of charity: for He loveth not creatures ungrateful and wicked.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2829 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib

Hadrat Ali (r.a.) bin Abi Taalib said he heard Allah's Messenger (saws) invoke the curse of Allah on those who took ‘riba’, those who paid it, those who recorded it, and those who refused to give sadaqah.

Your Question: I am very scared of aakhirat, what happens if I dont payup the loan and go away from this country.

Respected sister, if indeed you fear Allah and the Last day, first and foremost you should turn back unto your Lord Most Gracious in ‘taubah’ and seek sincere forgiveness for involving yourself in what has clearly been declared as unlawful (riba).

Secondly, you should do whatever is in your capacity to repay back this illegal loan you have taken and make a solemn covenant with your Lord that you will never ever indulge in what has been declared as ‘haraam’ again.

Your Question: ….Please show me a way and let me know how to face it.

Respected sister, other than paying back the debt, there is very little a debtor can do except bear the harshness of their condition…..one amongst the best supplications one can and should constantly make when in debt is the one taught by the Messenger of Allah (saws)….it is expected that Allah Subhanah will cause their debt to be paid even if it were as great as a mountain.

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 4.131b

Ali related that a slave, who had agreed on terms of his freedom with his master, came to him and said, "I cannot pay my master as I agreed in the terms of freedom, so help me." Ali said to him, "Let me teach you the supplication that the Prophet (saws) taught me. If you say it, Allah will cause your debt to be paid even if it be as great as a mountain. Say, 'O Allah, make Your lawful bounties sufficient for me so as to save me from what is unlawful, and from Your Grace grant me sufficient abundance to make me free from the need of all except You'."

Related by Tirmidhi.

May Allah Subhanah make your trial easy for you and your family, and from His Infinite Sources and Bounties provide you with abundance so as to make you free from the need of all except Him. Ameen.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan